Edwards Earns Top 10 Finish at Michigan

BROOKLYN, MI -- Roush Fenway Racing has had great success at Michigan International Speedway over the years and Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 was no different. Although Carl Edwards did not get his No. 99 Geek Squad/West Coast Customs Ford to victory lane, he picked up his 11th top-10 finish of the season while his RFR teammate Greg Biffle took home the trophy.

Edwards started second for the 200-lap race, but fell back to fifth until he could pit on lap 34 for a few adjustments to help the handling. Before long he said his Fusion was turning better and he was up to third by the next pit stop on lap 70 under caution.

At the halfway point Edwards was fifth and overall was pleased with the car's performance. A few teams were on a slightly different pit cycle so he restarted 13th on lap 137 after pitting for two tires while the top-10 cars stayed out. With 50 laps to go he was back up to sixth place and the field began to cycle through the pits for the final time.

Edwards was credited with leading lap 169 before pitting for right-side tires again on lap 170. The Geek Squad team had a quick stop and he was back up to 10th with 20 laps remaining. A caution on lap 182 brought many of the drivers who hadn't pitted the last time in for tires and fuel, which moved Edwards up to sixth when the race resumed on lap 187. He got a great restart and quickly moved up to fourth.

The final caution of the race came on lap 197 when Jimmie Johnson's car was leaking oil on the track. Edwards stayed out to maintain track position, as did the other lead cars. He restarted third for the green-white-checker finish but was shuffled back a bit when he was stuck in the middle going three wide. He held on to finish the race sixth.

"We just had a lot of fortune there to get the opportunity on the last restart to make it happen," Edwards said. "I am glad a Ford is in victory lane. It is big for Greg to win here, along with Jack and everyone. It is big for Ford, they deserve this. We showed everyone we could do it. We were as fast or faster than Greg was the whole second half of the race. It is just a matter of getting it done now."

Edwards and the No. 99 remain 12th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, 38 points behind 10th place. The next race will be Saturday night, August 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.